"Whatever is eating her brain consumes only the fresher memories, the unripe moments. Her distant past is preserved. Moments that occurred in Leningrad sixty-some years ago reappear, vivid, plump, and perfumed."
Part 1, p. 5

"He, too, has been transformed, her handsome young husband replaced by this elderly, white haired man. It's as though his face has melted, puddles of loose skin forming under his eyes, the once firm jaw dripping into wattles. His ears are as long as a hound's."
Part 1, p. 11

"Every day, every night since the war began has become infused with a new intensity, the awareness that the world is about to change. It is strangely exhilarating. There is the possibility that when this is all over, the Soviet Union will be a better place. She is ready for change, any change."
Part 2, p. 16

"She knew that she could tell him whatever she was thinking, that...